Man's death not caused by injuries from rally-site blast

THE DEATH this week of a 65-year-old man hit by shrapnel at a political protest rally site last month was due to heart failure and not injuries he sustained, hospital officials said.

“The symptoms are not related to the bomb-blast injuries,” Udom Chaowarin, director of Rajavithi Hospital, said yesterday.

Anon Thaidee was hospitalised with a blood clot in his lung earlier this month.

On January 19, his name appeared on the list of victims of the bombing of an anti-government campsite in Bangkok.

“Shrapnel hit him in the head. But he received treatment and was well on the way to recovery when he was discharged,” Udom said.

He was rushed back to the hospital earlier this week after experiencing chest pain. A CT scan revealed a pulmonary embolism.

The political unrest has claimed 10 lives and hurt 628 people, but some victims might have gone unrecorded.

Dr Somkiat Kasemthamakhun, a specialist at Priest Hospital, said a 19-year-old woman was shot last Thursday in a politically related incident but her case went unnoticed at first because she was treated at a private hospital. “Now, she has been released,” he said.